Broadband
How to Switch Broadband Providers in the UK and Save Money
Switch when your contract ends, your price rises or a faster connection reaches your address. The new provider usually arranges the switch and tells your old one, so you rarely need to call them, and there should be no long gap in service.
- Time it for the contract end
- The new provider arranges it
- Check any exit fee first
Plans from the providers Wisemium works with. Wisemium does not provide broadband itself. Keeps the price and the contract end date on record.
Your broadband
- Contract end date
- On record
- Exit fee
- Checked
- Speed at your address
- From the check
Example. Your own details appear once you add them.
Switching broadband
First
Check your contract
The end date and any exit fee for leaving before it.
Then
Check your address
Which connection reaches it and the speed a provider expects to give you.
Choose
Compare the whole contract
The monthly price, setup fee, contract length and any stated April rise.
Switch
The new provider arranges it
It tells your old provider. You have 14 days to change your mind on a contract agreed online or by phone.
The full guide
Many UK households stay with the same broadband provider for years without checking whether a better deal exists. When a contract ends the monthly price often rises, so you could be paying more than you need to for the same service. Switching is one of the easiest ways to bring the bill down.
When to switch
- Your contract is about to end, or has ended.
- Your monthly price has gone up.
- Your speed is too slow for how you use it.
- A faster fibre package has reached your address.
The large UK providers
BT provides fibre broadband with wide coverage across the UK. Sky is popular with households that also take Sky TV. Virgin Media offers some of the fastest speeds in the UK over its own cable network. Wisemium lists broadband from a number of providers, including BT, Zzoomm, YouFibre and Connect Fibre; it does not list every provider, and it does not rank them.
How the switch works
- Compare packages available at your address.
- Choose one with the speed and price you want, and read the term and any stated future price.
- Confirm the contract terms and the installation date.
- Order with the new provider. In most cases the new provider handles the switch, including telling your old one.
What to compare
Wisemium shows the packages it lists with speed, monthly price, contract length, setup cost and any future price the provider has stated, side by side. Add your current broadband and it keeps the end date on record and shows it as needing attention before it passes, which is the moment switching is worth the most.
Wisemium may receive a commission if you take out a deal through a partner. It does not affect what you pay.
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